Quills or bobbins



1961 c. VAN DEVENTER m 2,967,026

QUILLS OR BQBBINS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 9, 1956 I l| 1 l 1 i m MINVENTOR CHRISTOPHER VAN DEVENTER ZZZ ATTORNEYS m 3., 1961 c. VANDEV-ENTER m 2,967,025

QUILLS 0R BOBBINS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1956 INVENTOR BY aATTORNEYS United States Patent QUILLS on BOBBINS Christopher VanDeventer III, Knoxville, Tenn., assignor to National Plastics, Inc.,Knoxville, Tenn., 21 corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 9, 1956, Ser.No. 570,632

7 Claims. (Cl. 242-11831) This invention relates to quills or bobbinsadapted to carry masses of thread or yarn thereon. Such quills orbobbins are used in spinning, weaving, winding, and other types ofmachinery.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No.322,986, filed November 28, 1952, now abandoned.

For many years the standard quills or bobbins ordinarily used incommercial operations have been made principally of wood. However, ithas been recognized that wood has certain qualities which areundesirable for this service. In particular, wood lacks dimensionalstability, and it is subject to rapid wear and splintering. As a resultof this recognition of the deficiencies of wood as a material for use inthe making of quills and bobbins,there have been proposals that thesearticles be made of plastic. It is with this type of plastic quills orbobbins that the present invention is concerned.

An object of this invention is to provide a plastic quill or bobbinwhich will be strong and which will meet the requirements imposed onsuch articles by the machinery in which they are used.

Another object of this invention is to provide a plastic quill or bobbinmolded of thermosetting plastic reinforced with fibers, and shaped so asto produce uniform distribution of the fibers during the moldingoperation. In particular, this invention contemplates a novelconfiguration for the joint between the body portion and the buttportion of a plastic bobbin.

' Still another object of this invention is to provide a plastic bobbinof minimum weight by the inclusion of air spaces therein.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a plastic quill orbobbin having a metallic sheath attached to the butt portion and a partof the body portion thereof during the molding operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a plastic quill or bobbinwhich will not be crushed or distorted materially by the thread woundthereon.

The foregoing objects are' accomplished according to this invention by acombination of features. The outer surface of the bobbin is shaped insuch a way that the The weight of the plastic quills or bobbinsaccording to the present invention may be minimized by forming theplastic portion of the structure as two elements adapted to fit togetherto provide a unit in which the desired inside diameter and the desiredoutside diameter for the bobbin are maintained. However, therepreferably are air spaces between the inner and outer plastic members.Another technique which may be employed in reducing the weight of aplastic bobbin is to form air spaces along the inner surface of thebobbin by providing lands and grooves on that surface. The lands mayform an interrupted bore of a shape such as to assure proper cooperationbetween the bobbin and a spindle, while the grooves will providelongitudinally extending air spaces in the bobbin.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will beapparent from the following detailed description of certain embodimentsthereof, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a plastic quill or bobbin accordingto this invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the quill or bobbinshown in Fig. 1, taken along line 2-2 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 inFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vcross sectional view taken along the axis ofanother typeof quill or bobbin embodying certain of the features of thepresent invention;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a modification which includes ametallic sheath on the bobbin;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the quill or bobbin ofFig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the butt portion of the quill or bobbin of Fig.6; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse cross sectional view similar to Fig. 3, butshowing still another modification of the invention.

The quill or bobbin 2, shown in Fig. 1, is a filling bobbin, formedalmost entirely of reinforced plastic. The plastic employed preferablyis phenol furol formaldehyde, but other thermosettting plastic compoundsor butt portion and the body portion thereof are connected are nogrooves or edges which may trap or interfere with the thread carried bythe bobbin. The sheath also may include circumferential ridges forcooperation with holding means disposed in a shuttle, and these ridgesmay be filled with plastic material during the molding operation.

polyester resins, such as well known urea, or alkyd compounds may beused for this purpose. The plastic material preferably is reinforcedwith fibers of glass, cotton, hemp, etc.

The quill or bobbin 2 shown in Fig. 1 includes a butt portion 4, a bodyportion 6about which a mass of the thread 8 may be wound, and a tipportion 10. The mass of thread 8 is shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. l inthe interest of clarity. T

It should be noted also that the inside surface of the bobbin 2 of Fig.1 is shown in dotted lines. These lines represent the surfaces whichcooperate with the spindle when the bobbin is in use. Therefore, it willbe seen that in its overall outside and inside shape, the bobbin of Fig.1 is very similar to the bobbins of the prior art. It will be evidentalso that this bobbin meets the requirements imposed upon quills orbobbins .by the spinning machinery and by the looms, etc., in which theyare used. The body portion 6 of the bobbin 2 may have exactly the sameshape and external dimensions as conventional bobbins, and the innersurface of the bobbin 2 may have the same shape and dimensions as theinner surface of conventional bobbins.

In spite of the overall similarity of Fig. 1 to the prior art, oneof thefeatures of this invention is illustrated in Fig. 1. This is the noveljoint or junction 12 between the butt portion 4 and the body portion 6of the bobbin. This junction'is formed as a' reversed curve, and itisfree of any sharp turns, corners, or the like. Byiu'sing 'a' compoundradius it is possible to prevent turbulence of the glass fibers and toprevent disintegration of these ifibers during the molding operation. Inthis respect, a bobbin according to the present invention is superior toplastic bobbins of the prior art because, since the fibers aredistributed in a desired fashion, the structure is much stronger.

v Turning now to Fig. 2, it is pointed out that the bobbin 32 actuallycomprises two separately formed plastic memibers 14 and 16. The plasticmember 14 has an outer isurface shaped to give the bobbin 2 the desiredexternal "configuration, while the plastic member 16 has an innersurface shaped to give the bobbin 2 the desired internal configuration.The external configuration of the bobbin has been discussed inconnection with Fig. 1. The internal configuration now will be describedin connection with Fig. 2.

It will be seen that the inner surface of the bobbin 2 .inciudes aconverging zone 18 near the end of the butt portion 4 for guiding thebobbin relative to a spindle as the bobbin is being placed upon thespindle. The inte- :rior of the bobbin also includes a circumferentialridge ':2() in the butt portion 4 of the bobbin. This ridge 20 :assuresproper coaction between the inner surface of the bobbin and the springswhich protrude from the spindle. 'In the body portion of the bobbin, theinterior surface is tapered so as to be substantially parallel with theouter surface. In the tip portion of the bobbin, the interior surface ofthe member 16 becomes cylindrical, as shown in the zone designated 22 inFig. 2. This cylindrical bare cooperates with the upper end portion of aspindle .and serves to align the bobbin with the axis of the spindle.

The plastic members 14 and 16 are so related to each other as to leaveair spaces extending longitudinally through a substantial part of thelength of the bobbin 2. This relationship can be best understood byreference to .Fig. 3. This view shows that the outer plastic member 14has a plurality of teeth, lands, ribs, or radial proiec- 'tions 24protruding inwardly from its inner surface 26. These lands arerelatively long in Fig. 3 because only a few of them have been shown.However, it will be understood that any suitable number of lands 24 maybe provided, and that they may be of any desired length. The innerplastic member 16 also includes a number of ribs, lands, teeth, orradial projections 28 protruding from its outer surface 30.

The radial projections 24 and 28 interlock, as shown in Fig. 3, so thatthe two members 14 and 16 must rotate together at all times. Thislongitudinal interlocking is of substantial extent so that the loadsimposed upon the radial projections are minimized. It should be notedalso that the radial projections 24 and 28 are shorter than thedistances between the inner surface26 of the outer plastic member 14 andthe outer surface 30 of the inner plastic member 16 so that air spaces32 and 34 are formed be tween the members 14 and 16. These air spaces'materially reduce the overall weight of the quill or bobbin 2.

In the preferred form of the invention, the outer and inner plasticmembers 14 and 16 are provided with radial projections over the centralportion of their lengths. Within the butt 4 and within the tip 10, thetwo members may be in radial contact with each other. This constructiongives the bobbin a certain amount of radial flexibility, which isimportant when threads such as nylon are wound thereon. The central,yarn carrying body portion 6 of the outer plastic member 14 may flexinwardly slightly without disturbing the inner diameter of the bobbin 2in any way. Hence, even if the outer surface of the bobbin is deflectedsomewhat, there is no danger that the bobbin may become frictionallylocked upon the spindle. il:11f pla'sfi members 14 and 16 may beassembled simply by inserting the inner member 16 into the butt end oftheouter member 14 and sliding the two members together. The parts maybe removably held in the assembled position by a metallic ring 36, whichcan be sprung into grooves 38 and 40 on the inner and outer surfaces ofthe members 14 and 16, respectively. Any other suitable fastening meansmay be employed, if desired.

Fig. 4 illustrates a warp bobbin 42, which incorporates certain of thefeatures of the filling bobbin 2 shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The warp bobbin42 includes an outer plastic member 44, and an inner plastic member 46,connected together by a metallic spring 48, or other suitable means. Theouter plastic member 44 has an external surface which includes a yarncarrying body portion 50 and a butt or base portion 52. The externalshape may be the same as that of the prior art bobbins of this type. Theinner surface of the inner plastic member 46 preferably conforms inshape with the inner surfaces of the bobbins of the prior art.

The plastic members 44 and 46 are in radial contact near their ends, butthey are spaced apart along their central portions. The central portionof the inner member 46 includes ribs, teeth, lands, or radialprojections 54, projecting from the outer surface 56 thereof, and thecentral portion of the outer member 44 includes ribs, teeth, lands, orradial projections 58 protruding from its inner surface 60. The radialprojections 54 and 58 are interlocked in the manner indicated in Fig. 3to prevent relative rotation between the two plastic members 44 and 45.

The fact that the plastic members 44 and 46 are not permitted to rotaterelative to one another is particularly significant in connection withthe warp bob-bin structure shown in Fig. 4, in that it eliminates myproblem which might arise in connection with the driving notches 62 inthe butt portion of the bobbin if such relative movement did occur. Thenotches. 62 must, of course, extend through both the outer and the innerplastic member 44 and 46.

Fig. 5 illustrates a filling bobbin 63 which may be used in automaticlooms, for example. in some looms of this type the presence or absenceof a supply of thread on the bobbin is detected periodically by a feelerelement which moves into contact with an area of the bobbin whichnormally is covered by thread. If, however, the thread has beenexhausted, or nearly exhausted from the bobbin, the feeler comes intocontact with a metallic element on the surface of the bobbin to producean electrical signal which initiates replenishment of the exhaustedbobbin.

In the embodiment of Figs. 5, 6, and 7, such metallic element is in theform of a thin metallic sheath64 of stainless steel, chrome steel, brassor the like. The sheath 64 surrounds adjacent zones of the body portion66 and the butt portion 68 of the bobbin, and it conforms precisely tothe contour of the portions. -Conformation in shape between the sheath64 and the plastic member 70 thereb'eneath is assured by reason of thefact that the two are connected together during the molding-operation.

It is pointed out that the plastic member 70, which constitutes the mainstructural element of the bobbin or quill shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7,isprovided with radially extending shoulders 72 and 74 in its outersurface adjacent the ends of the sheath 64. These shoulders 72 and 74actually abut against the ends of the sheath, and they are of an extentequal to the thickness of the sheath so that smooth joints are formedbetween the sheath and the plastic member 70. There are no grooves orprojec tions which might interfere with the movements of the threadcarried by the bobbin.

The metallic sheath 64 includes several grooves 76 in the part thereofencircling the body portion 66 ofjt he plastic member 70. These groovesserve to lock the sheath in the desired position and to hold the initialturns wound thereon.

In the butt portion of the bobbin the metallic sheath 64 is providedwithcircumferential ridges 78 which are adapted to cooperate with meanswithin a shuttle to hold ase'aoae the bobbin in place during a weavingoperation. In the prior art, bobbins have been provided with ringsaround their butt portion for a similar purpose. However, these ringsusually have been in the form of strips of wire, and the rings have beeninterrupted because of the necessity for springing the wire into placeon the butt portions. The protrusions 78 of this invention, however, maybe continuous so that no gaps, which might accidentally snag a thread,are present. r

The protrusions 78 in the metallic sheath 64 are completely filled, asshown in Fig. 6, by the plastic material of which the plastic member 70is made. This is accomplished during the molding operation. Thus, theforma tion of the rings for cooperation with the shuttle is completedwithout an additional step, such as the attaching of wire rings to aformed body. 7

The plastic member 70 has a novel internal configuration. In the buttportion 68, and in the tip portion 80, the plastic member 70 is providedwith a number of radial grooves 82 which reduce materially the overallweight of the quill or bobbin. These grooves 82 correspond in a generalway with the spaces between the projections 24 on the interior surfaceof the plastic member 14 shown in Figs. 2 and 3, although it will beseen that they do not occupy precisely the same positions. The functionin both cases is to provide longitudinally extending air spaces withinthe plastic bobbins,

The lands 84, i.e., the portions intermediate the grooves 82, have theirinnermost surfaces shaped so as to give an interrupted bore to thebobbin, which bore is of a configuration which adapts it for cooperationwith a spindle. In this connection, it is intended that theconfiguration of the interrupted bore be the same as that found inconventional bobbins.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view generally similarto the cross sectionalview shown in Fig. 3, but it illustrates still another embodiment of theinvention. In this embodiment, a metallic sheath 86 is associated with aplastic bobbin 87 which includes outer and inner plastic members 88 and90, respectively. The plastic members 88 and 90 are related to eachother in the same way that the plastic members 14 and 16 of Figs. 2 and3 are related to each other. The purpose, again, is to minimize theweight of the quill or bobbin. It should be noted that the achievementof this objective is even more compelling in the case of a bobbin havinga metallic sheath than it is with a bobbin such as that shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 also illustrates another variation of the invention in that itshows a much larger number of projections, ribs, lands, or teeth 92 and94, on the outer and inner plastic members 88 and 90, respectively, thanthe corresponding illustration of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3. Thisdifference will serve to emphasize that. the actual number of radialprojections and the arrangement of these projections are factors whichmay be varied somewhat without departing from the principles of theinvention.

Still other variations and modifications will be obvious to personsskilled in the art. For example, the outer plastic member or shell ofthe bobbin might have a smooth inside surface, and the inner plasticmember or core might have lands projecting from its surface into directcontact with the smooth inside surface of the shell with a press fit.Moreover, where both the inner and the outer plastic members areprovided with lands and grooves, as in Figs. 3 and 8, one of the sets oflands may project into radial contact with the adjacent face of theother member, leaving only one set of air spaces instead of two.

It is intended, therefore, that the foregoing detailed description ofcertain embodiments of the invention should be considered as exemplaryonly, and that the scope of the invention should be ascertained from thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A quill or bobbin comprising a first elongated hollow member havingan outer surface shaped to provide a .body portion upon which a mass ofthread may be wound and an enlargement at one end of said body portion,and a second elongated hollow member disposed within said firstmemberand having an inner surface shaped to receive and to cooperate with aspindle and an outer surface having portions to engage and support saidfirst member, the inner surface of said first member and the outersurface of said second member being radially spaced along a portion oftheir lengths and being provided along the last-mentioned portion oftheir lengths with radial projections and recesses for receiving suchprojections so as to lock said members against rotation relative to eachother, the positional relationship of said projections and recessesbeing such as to leave air spaces between the ends of the projectionsand the bases of the recesses.

2. A quill or bobbin comprising a first elongated hollow plastic memberhaving an outer surface shaped to provide a body portion upon which amass of thread may be wound and an enlargement at one end of said bodyportion, and a second elongated hollow plasticmember disposed withinsaid first member and having an inner surface shaped to receive and tocooperate with a spindle and an outer surface having portions to engageand sup port said first member, the inner surface of said first memberand the outer surface of said second member being radially spaced alonga portion of their lengths and at least one of them being provided alongthe lastmentioned portion of its length with longitudinally extendingradial ribs and grooves between said ribs so as to leave longitudinallyextending spaces in said bobbin.

3. A quill or bobbin comprising a first elongated hollow member havingan outer surface shaped to provide a body portion upon which a mass ofthread may be wound and an enlargement at one end of said body portion,and a second elongated hollow member disposed within said first memberand having an inner surface shaped to receive and to cooperate with aspindle, said first and second members each being formed separately inone integral piece of thermosetting plastic material having glass fibersdistributed therethrough, the inner surface of said first member and theouter surface of said second member being radially spaced along aportion of their lengths and being provided along the last-mentionedportion of their lengths with longitudinally extending radial ribsdisposed in interlocking relationship to prevent rotation of said firstmember relative to said second member, the ribs on at least one of saidmembers projecting radially distances less than the radial distancebetween said members so as to leave longitudinally extending air spacesin said bobbin.

4. A quill or bobbin comprising a first elongated hollow plastic memberhaving an outer surface shaped to provide a body portion upon which amass of thread may be wound, an enlargement at one end of said bodyportion, and a tip portion at the other end of said body portion; an asecond elongated hollow plastic member disposed within said first memberhaving an enlargement at one end and a tip portion at the other end andhaving an inner surface shaped to receive a spindle; the outer surfaceof the enlargement and the tip portion of said second member engagingand supporting the inner surface of the enlargement and the tip portionof said first member, the inner surface of said first member and theouter surface of said second member being spaced apart alongsubstantially the entire portions thereof positioned opposite said bodyportion and being provided with radial ribs extending longitudinallyalong substantially the entire lengths of said last-mentioned portionsthereof; said ribs being disposed in interlocking relationship toprevent relative rotation between said members and having radial extents.less than the radial distance between the surfaces from which theyproject so as to leave longitudinally plastic member having an outersurface shaped to provide a body portion upon which a mass of thread maybe wound, an enlargement at one end of said body portion,

and a tip portion at the other end of said body portion;

and a second elongated hollow plastic member disposed within said firstmember and having an inner surface shaped to receive a spindle; theouter surface of said second member supporting against radial deflectionthe inner surface of said first member at positions opposite saidenlargement and said tip portion; said inner surface of said firstmember and said outer surface of said second member being spaced apartalong substantially the entire portions thereof positioned opposite saidbody portion and being provided with radial ribs extendinglongitudinally along substantially the entire lengths of saidlast-mentioned portions thereof; said ribs being disposed ininterlocking relationship to prevent relative rotation between saidmembers and having radial extents less than the radial distance betweenthe surfaces from which they project so as to leave longitudinallyextending air spaces in said bobbin opposite said body portion.

6. A quill or bobbin comprising a first elongated hollow plastic memberhaving an outer surface shaped to provide a body portion upon which amass of thread may be wound, an enlargement at one end of said bodyportion, and a tip portion at the other end of said body portion; asecond elongated hollow plastic member disposed within said first memberand having an inner surface shaped to receive a spindle; and fasteningmeans for holding said second member within said first member; the outersurface of said second member supporting against radial deflection theinner surface of said first member at positions opposite to saidenlargement and said tip portion; said inner surface of said firstmember and said outer surface of said second member being spaced apartalong substantially the entire portions thereof positioned opposite saidbody portion and being provided with radial ribs extendinglongitudinally along substantially the entire lengths of saidlast-mentioned portions thereof; said ribs being disposed ininterlocking relationship to prevent relative rotation between saidmembers and having radial extents less than the radial distance betweenthe surfaces from whichthey project so as to leave longitudinallyextending air spaces in said bobbin opposite said body portion. I v

7. A quill or bobbin comprising afirst elongated hollow plastic memberhaving an outer surface shaped to provide a body portion upon which amass of thread may be wound, an enlargement at one end of said bodyportion, and a tip portion at the other end of said body portion; asecond elongated hollow plastic member disposed Within said first memberand having an inner surface shaped to receive a spindle; and means forremovably connecting said first and second members together; the outersurface of said second member supporting against radial deflection theinner surface of said first member at positions opposite saidenlargement and said tip portion; said inner surface of said firstmember and said outer surface of said second member being spaced apartalong substantially the entire portions thereof posi- References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Land July 12, 19042,311,613 Slayter Feb. 16, 1943 2,585,999 Bunch Feb. 19, 1952 2,654,549Rappleyea Oct. 6, 1953 2,656,127 Bunch Oct. 20, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS963,831 France July 21, 1950

